...better than Volcano.
Video:
Being one of the films I had originally used to show off DVD, "Dante´s Peak" was a film that I had hoped would look great on HD-DVD. Thankfully, Universal has mostly delivered with this catalog title and I felt the film looked strong enough to rank this among Universal´s better catalog titles. This film was among their earlier "Collector´s Edition" releases when the older format was new and "Dante´s Peak" was among one of the newer and better sounding titles to debut on the format. On HD-DVD, the film is now a ten year veteran and lacks the pure visual splendor of the most recent titles, but it was detailed and quite colorful. The film shows a lot of particle effects and contains a couple wonderful exterior shots that all look strongly detailed and colorful. Even when everything goes to hell in the wake of the volcanic eruption, "Dante´s Peak" holds its own on HD-DVD. The movie is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and in typical Universal fashion, uses the VC-1 code for its digital mastering. Colors are saturated nicely and shows strong greens, oranges, blues and reds. Detail is strong and many details that I was unable to see on DVD are abundantly clear here. All-in-all, the film lacked the brilliance of the top-notch HD-DVD titles, but was a strong looking catalog title.
Sound:
One of the reasons I came to enjoy "Dante´s Peak" and now consider it a guilty pleasure is because of its soundtrack. The film was one of the best sounding DVD titles when it was released and although films have become noisier, this is still a great sounding picture. The Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 soundtrack is vibrant and energetic. Once the volcano springs to life, the picture is aggressive and captivating to the ears. The .1 LFE channel rumbles deeply with the various seismic events and catastrophic collapses seen in the film. Rear surrounds carry a few effects very nicely to the rear and the hot springs bubble over nicely through the rears. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, through even the most aggressive moments. The film´s musical score is sometimes a little too understated, but it is clear and nicely rendered by the transfer. I would never pit "Dante´s Peak" in a head-to-head competition with the new films being released in HD-DVDs early days, but this early DVD release sounds pretty good on the new format.
Extras:
When this title was first released onto DVD, the singular documentary and commentary track were very nice features. They still hold up today, but their sheer number feels a bit light in the reign of HD-DVD. The Feature Commentary by Director Roger Donaldson and Production Designer Dennis Washington feels a bit dry and is very technical in nature. The two speak softly throughout their commentary track and leave a number of silent moments as they sit back and enjoy the film. The two did dive into some of the scientific aspects of the film and this was interesting, but I found the overall commentary track difficult to sit through again, even if the first sitting was a decade ago. The feature Getting Close to the Show: The Making of Dante´s Peak (61:14) runs for over an hour and is both polished and entertaining. All aspects of the production are looked into during this lengthy documentary. Real-life volcanoes, the physical effects shots used and other quality segments were contained in this feature. After ten years, I was still fascinated with some of the effects shots and still think this is one of the better making of documentaries to hit DVD. Finally, a Theatrical Trailer is also included.
Closing Comments:
"Dante´s Peak" ranks among my top guilty pleasures in cinema. I may not love this film with the same fervor that I do "Waterworld," but I do enjoy sitting down and watching this Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton movie. Part of the reason is my background in geology and my interest in volcanic explosions. They did justice to the science and made a film that is one of the more entertaining volcano movies. This was definitely better than "Volcano." The plot and story are as deep as a surface tremor, but it is written in a manner that entertains. The HD-DVD release of this Universal DVD classic features strong visuals and sound that are not as good as today´s top titles, but do the film justice. The supplements from that early "Collector´s Edition" make their way to HD-DVD and although the commentary felt overly dry, I loved the making of documentary. This is a fine catalog title that is as fun as the disaster films of the Seventies. It is a decent HD-DVD release as well, even if it is a rehash of the old DVD title.
Being one of the films I had originally used to show off DVD, "Dante´s Peak" was a film that I had hoped would look great on HD-DVD. Thankfully, Universal has mostly delivered with this catalog title and I felt the film looked strong enough to rank this among Universal´s better catalog titles. This film was among their earlier "Collector´s Edition" releases when the older format was new and "Dante´s Peak" was among one of the newer and better sounding titles to debut on the format. On HD-DVD, the film is now a ten year veteran and lacks the pure visual splendor of the most recent titles, but it was detailed and quite colorful. The film shows a lot of particle effects and contains a couple wonderful exterior shots that all look strongly detailed and colorful. Even when everything goes to hell in the wake of the volcanic eruption, "Dante´s Peak" holds its own on HD-DVD. The movie is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and in typical Universal fashion, uses the VC-1 code for its digital mastering. Colors are saturated nicely and shows strong greens, oranges, blues and reds. Detail is strong and many details that I was unable to see on DVD are abundantly clear here. All-in-all, the film lacked the brilliance of the top-notch HD-DVD titles, but was a strong looking catalog title.
Sound:
One of the reasons I came to enjoy "Dante´s Peak" and now consider it a guilty pleasure is because of its soundtrack. The film was one of the best sounding DVD titles when it was released and although films have become noisier, this is still a great sounding picture. The Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 soundtrack is vibrant and energetic. Once the volcano springs to life, the picture is aggressive and captivating to the ears. The .1 LFE channel rumbles deeply with the various seismic events and catastrophic collapses seen in the film. Rear surrounds carry a few effects very nicely to the rear and the hot springs bubble over nicely through the rears. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, through even the most aggressive moments. The film´s musical score is sometimes a little too understated, but it is clear and nicely rendered by the transfer. I would never pit "Dante´s Peak" in a head-to-head competition with the new films being released in HD-DVDs early days, but this early DVD release sounds pretty good on the new format.
Extras:
When this title was first released onto DVD, the singular documentary and commentary track were very nice features. They still hold up today, but their sheer number feels a bit light in the reign of HD-DVD. The Feature Commentary by Director Roger Donaldson and Production Designer Dennis Washington feels a bit dry and is very technical in nature. The two speak softly throughout their commentary track and leave a number of silent moments as they sit back and enjoy the film. The two did dive into some of the scientific aspects of the film and this was interesting, but I found the overall commentary track difficult to sit through again, even if the first sitting was a decade ago. The feature Getting Close to the Show: The Making of Dante´s Peak (61:14) runs for over an hour and is both polished and entertaining. All aspects of the production are looked into during this lengthy documentary. Real-life volcanoes, the physical effects shots used and other quality segments were contained in this feature. After ten years, I was still fascinated with some of the effects shots and still think this is one of the better making of documentaries to hit DVD. Finally, a Theatrical Trailer is also included.
Closing Comments:
"Dante´s Peak" ranks among my top guilty pleasures in cinema. I may not love this film with the same fervor that I do "Waterworld," but I do enjoy sitting down and watching this Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton movie. Part of the reason is my background in geology and my interest in volcanic explosions. They did justice to the science and made a film that is one of the more entertaining volcano movies. This was definitely better than "Volcano." The plot and story are as deep as a surface tremor, but it is written in a manner that entertains. The HD-DVD release of this Universal DVD classic features strong visuals and sound that are not as good as today´s top titles, but do the film justice. The supplements from that early "Collector´s Edition" make their way to HD-DVD and although the commentary felt overly dry, I loved the making of documentary. This is a fine catalog title that is as fun as the disaster films of the Seventies. It is a decent HD-DVD release as well, even if it is a rehash of the old DVD title.
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[release]21207[/release]